Artificial limb



A. C. ADAMS.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB.

APPLICATION FILED Ammo. 1916.

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has /h/L/ A.v C. ADM/IS.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB. APPLICATION FILED'AUGzo. Isla.

1,365,646. Patented Jan. 18,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. Y jaag 4f Zullen 707 AAG 'Adams 37%fzfam@ A. CA ADAMS.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB.

APPLICATION FILED AuGJo, Isls.

1,355,646. Patented Jan. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB.

Application filed August 20, 1/918.

To all whomy t may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED CHARLES ADAMS, asubject'of His Majesty the King of England, and resident oflRoehampton,y

in the county of London, Kingdom of England, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Artificial Limbs, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in artiiicial limbs.

The invention has for its object to, provide an improved mechanicallyworked shoulder or elbow joint to which may be fitted a lower forearmmember, with or without a hand or an extension piece for appliances.

According to the chief feature of this invention one or more members ofthe artificial limb turn on a pivot pin mounted eccentrically andforwardly of the vertical axis of the limb so that for instance aforearm member can be turned and raised upwardly without altering theposition ofthe upper arm.

A. further feature consists in providing means whereby the lower part orbucket of a two-part forearm is adapted to be automatically locked tothe upper part thereof to connect the two parts together.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of elbowjoint constructed according to this involition Showing the deviceunlookod;

Fig. 2 is a sectional front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a plan of ythe cup shaped casting;

Fig. 4f is a lplan of the looking mechanism disposed in the forearm;

Fig. 5 is a detail 'of the pulley wheel and the operating ycordattachment;

Fig, 6 is a sectional elevation of a modiiedconstruction of theconnecting members;

.Fia 7 is e ,sectional elevation of a further modioaf-ion,

Fig. 8 is a Sectional plan taken on tho lino ,8-8 of Fig. 7. j

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a modilied method of fitting thevcasting toy the lower end of the upper arm to allow the forearm andconnection to be rotated.

Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively rear and front views showing theimproved articial limb in use.

In my preferred construction as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, I mount the pivotpin 1 eccentrioally and forwardly of the vertical axis of Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 18,1921. Serial No. 250,747.

the upper' arm in a pair of bearings 3, preferably formed in a hollowcasting 4' adapted to be secured tok the lower end of the said upperarm. This casting or. stump lis substantially hemispherically Ior cupshaped at its lower end and reduced in diameter at its upper end asshown at 5, so that it be inserted and secured by screws or the like 6in the lower end of the artificial upper arm bucket 2 of leather orother suitable material. The hollow casting or stump 4 is preferablymade of aluminium and divided longitudinally as shown at 7 in twoportions ywhich are adapted to be secured together by screws 8 or othersuitable means. Between lthe bearings 3 and on the pivot rod 1v aresecured a preferably screw threadedstem member 9 to which is attachedthe forearm 1Q in` the manner to be hereinafter described and a groovedpulley wheel 11 or other suitable .means to which is secured one end ofa cord, or the like 12 which is adaptedto operate the forearm 10,working through suitable jockey rollers 13 or guides. The other end ofthis cord 12 is adapted to be worked by a forward movement of theremaining stump of the arm or by a pull from the opposite shoulder orthe chest in the well-knownvmanner. This cord 12 is preferablyadjustably secured to the grooved pulley 11 by a screw engaging in oneof a plurality of holes in the pulley or by providing a number. of holesor recesses le in the pulley 11 into one ofwhich the end of the wire 12is adapted to he engaged, a suitable enlargement 12' being provided onthe end ofthe wireto hold the same in position as shown in Fig. 5.lrlfhus the cord can be easily removed and replaced'by a new cord ifnecessary and repairs easily effected. Adjacent to one end of the pivotrod 1, and; disposed in a recess. or @et over portion 15 of thesaidcasting 4, is secured a disk or quadrant l@ haring@ Pluralit" ofholes 17 arranged on its peliriphery., A longitudinally movable pin 18is vdisposed obliquely in a suitable enlargement 19 of the wall of thecasting l andadapted to be normally pressed downwardly by a spring 2O toengage in any one of Ithe holes 17 provided on the disk 16 so that theforearm ll() can be locked in various positions with relation to theupper arm 2. The spring pressed pin 18 is formed with an upwardly andoutwardly projecting stem 21 to which may be attached in any suitablemanner a cord or the like as indicated at 21 for .operating the pin 18to tion so that the outwardly projecting portion of the stem of the pincan be turned and placed therein. The pin 18 can thus be held out ofengagement with the holes 1'? in the disk 16 so as to permit freemovement of the forearm 10.

It will be understood that the said stem 2l may be operated by the otherhand to un lock or lock the forearm 10 in any position about the pivot1.

To the lower end of the screw thi'eaded stem member 9 is secured asuitably shaped or squared extension piece 22 having a transv rse holeor recess 23 which is adapted to receive a spring pressed pin 24slidably mounted in the artificial forearm bucket member 10 so that theforearm bucket can be instantly7 and if so desired, automaticallysecured to the upper arm bucket 2. In onev construction, this pin 24 isslidably mounted in bearings or a bearing 25 secured or formed on aplate 26 which is secured to a Ll shaped plate 27. rlhese plates 26 and27 are each provided with a suitably shaped or squared hole 28 toreceive the extension piece 22 and the arms of the il shaped plate 27are secured by suitable means to the ,forearm bucket 10. To the pin 24is secured intermediately of its ends a shaped rod 24 which is slidabl;7mounted in bearings 29 depending from the il shaped plate 27 and on thearms of the il shaped rod 24 are mounted coiled springs 30. One endofeach of these springs 30 is adapted to bear against one of thebearings 29 and the other end of each spring 30 is adapted to bearagainst a plate 31 adjustably secured to the outer ends of the U shapedrod 24. To this latter plate 31 is secured a rod 32 which is adapted toeX- tend through the forearm bucket 10 and be provided with a suitableoperating knob or the like 83. rlhus it will be seen that when theforearm bucket 10 is placed on the stem member 9 and the squared orsuitably shaped end 22 thereof engages in the squared hole 28, thespring pressed slidable pin 24 will automatically engage in thetransverse hole 23 in the said squared extension 22 and lock the forearm10 thereto. To each side ofthe forearm bucket 10 are secured in anysuitable manner metal plates or the like 34 provided with extensions 35to engage with the outer ends of the pivot pin 1. Each extension 35 ispreferably forked to engage with a substantially rectangular shapedportion 36 formed adjacent to the ends of the said pivot pin 1 so as tofurther secure the forearm bucket 10 to the upper arm bucket 2 and allowthe former to move in relation to the latter when operated by the cordor wire 12. In order to remove the forearm bucket 10 it is onlynecessary to press the external knob 33 to withdraw the spring pressedpin 24 from engagement with the stem member 22 and thus unlock theconnection. If desired the spring pressed pin 24 could be arranged sothat the knob 33 could be pulled to unlock the forearm 10.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a connection for the forearmstem member and forearm bucket which can be quickly and easily securedand automatically locked and be instantly detachable, If desired, thelower end of the squared extension 22 could be formed with an internalscrew thread 3'? for the connection of a suitable attachment. It willalso be observed that by mounting the pivot pin 1 eccentrically theforearm 10 can be turned thereon and raised upwardly and locked eitherautomatically or by hand in the manner hereinbefore described withoutaltering the position of the upper arm.

In a modified construction as shown in Fig. 6 the stem member 9 could beprovided with a cone shaped extension 38 to engage ina conical recess 39formed in the forearm j bucket 10 or vice versa, a spring pressed pin 24or pins being provided to lock the connection in a similar manner tothat previously described.

If desired, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the lower end of the forearm stemmember 9 may be provided with a recess 40 having a hexagonal or otherangular shaped base 41 to receive a suitably forked spring pressed plate42 in place of the pin to automatically lock the forearm 10 thereon. I

In a further modified construction as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9the lower end of the upper arm or the hollow casting 4 could berotatably mounted inthe bucket 2 and be locked in any position by aspring pressed pin or plunger 43 provided o n ,one portion engaging inone of a plurality of holes 44 provided on the other portion, or thepreviously described angular bases recess and spring pressed forked lateconnection similar to that shown in igs. 7 and 8 may be provided to lockthe members 2 and 4 at desired angles to each other.

When my invention is applied to a shoulder joint the pivot pin thereforis arranged eccentrically and forwardly of the vertical axis of thelimb.

l. An artificial limb, comprising an upper armbucket7 a transverse pivotpin carried by the arm bucket, a forearm, straps secured to the forearmand having detachable engagement with the transverse pivot pin, astem-member secured to the transverse pivot pin and provided with anotch, a U-shaped plate extending longitudinally of the forearm andsecured thereto and having an opening to receive the stem-member, and aspring pressed bolt to enter the notch and lock the stem-member withinthe opening. a

2. An articial limb, comprising an upper arm bucket, a transverse pivotpin carried by the arm bucket, a forearm, straps secured to the forearmand having their ends forked to receive portions of the pivot pin, astem-member secured to the transverse pivot pinand provided with anotch, a U-shaped plate extending longitudinally of the forearm andsecured thereto and having an opening to receive the stem-member, asecond plate secured to the U-shaped plate and having an opening inregistration with the first named opening, a bolt carried by the secondplate and ada ted to enter the notch, a spring pressed e ement securedto the bolt and arranged within the forearm, to enter the notch, and amanually operated element secured to the spring pressed element andarranged exteriorly of the forearm.

An artificial limb, comprising an upper member, a transverse pin pivotedwithin the upper member and having its ends formed polygonal, a lowermember, straps secured to the lower member and having their ends forkedto receive the polygonal.

portions of the pin, a socket secured to the lower member, and astem-member secured to the pin and adapted to be inserted within thesocket and locked therein.

4. An artificial limb, comprising an upper member, a transverse pinpivoted within the upper member and having its ends formed polygonal, alower member, straps secured to the lower member and having their endsforked to receive the polygonal portions of the pin, a socket secured tothe lower member, a stem member secured to the upper member forinsertion within the socket, means to lock the stem-member within thesocket, and means to hold the pin against turning movement with relationto the upper member.

An artificial limb comprising an upper member, a lower member, a pivotpin in the upper member to which the lower member is connected at aplurality of points, and means for operating said lower 'member aboutthe pivot pin, said pivot pin being mounted transverse the upper memberand wholly in advance of and parallel to the transverse central plane ofthe upper member, whereby the lower member may be turned upwardly onsaid pivot pin throughout substantially the full movement of a normalarm without requiring movement of the upper member.

6. An artificial arm, comprising an upper arm bucket, a pivot pin fixedtherein transverse the bucket and forwardly of the axial line thereof, afore arm, means for` connecting said fore arm with the respective endsof the pivot pin, and means for connecting the fore arm with the pivotpin between its ends, and an operable connection for the pivot pinarranged adjacent said last mentioned means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed m name.

XLFRED CHARLES ADAMS

